Multiple judges have found there was no crime even if what prosecutors claim was true. (Update  Walker interview added)

The big breaking news in the John Doe anti-Conservative Wisconsin investigation is that the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals released previously sealed court exhibits detailing accusations made at the time the Wisconsin prosecutors commenced the proceeding. p So you get screaming headlines such as these:

What is not being reported, is that multiple judges have found that the alleged criminal conduct was not in fact criminal even if the factual allegations were true. Here is part of Federal Judge Rendas opinion, which remains in effect halting the John Doe investigation, in a case brought by two of the targets:

The standard to apply in these cases was recently made clear by the Supreme Court in McCutcheon. Any campaign finance regulation, and any criminal prosecution resulting from the violation thereof, must target activity that results in or has the potential to result in quid pro quo corruption .

It is undisputed that OKeefe and the Club engage in issue advocacy, not express advocacy or its functional equivalent. Since § 11.01(16)s definition of political purposes must be confined to express advocacy, the plaintiffs cannot be and are not subject to Wisconsins campaign finance laws by virtue of their expenditures on issue advocacy .

While the defendants deny that their investigation is motivated by animus towards the plaintiffs conservative viewpoints, it is still unlawful to target the plaintiffs for engaging in vigorous advocacy that is beyond the states regulatory reach .

The plaintiffs have been shut out of the political process merely by association with conservative politicians. This cannot square with the First Amendment and what it was meant to protect.

A state court judge similarly found the accusations frivolous in refusing to issue subpoenas, Big defeat for anti-conservative Wisconsin John Doe probe.

So the media headlines are all about the accusations  accusations which have been rejected multiple times by judges.

This is what the opposition to Walker wanted, headlines making criminal accusations.

All the media outlets including Fox News ran headlines similar to this yesterday: Prosecutors Accuse Scott Walker of Criminal Conduct. It was completely opposite of what this case is about, with the Democrats obviously twisting it to accuse Walker, instead of the conservative group accusing the Democrat prosecutors of bringing false accusations against Walker. This was blatant yellow journalism.

Gov. Walker was on FOX this morning. He handled the whole thing very well, but after years of this he’s going to need to pull a Don Draper and “Change the conversation.” - that’s one thing this is meant to do to him - create a climate of defensiveness that never clears. The old Tar Baby scam - punch once and be engulfed. The perception creating media has never been more entangled in power politics. They will go back to this well again and again.

Conservative organizations in WI will strike back however. The crooked DA’s involved should get more than a few lessons in the cost of partisan witch hunts.

I cannot believe that the Media are either this stupid or this ignorant. Therefore malpractice is the mildest term that can apply. Criminal misconduct is closer to the mark. They are operating a propaganda machine under color of journalism and deliberately distorting both facts and circumstances in order to achieve partisan ends.

Organizations that do this cannot be trusted and should never be believed.

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